Wreck leaves one dead, three injured

Troopers say an inattentive driver caused the three-vehicle wreck this week that left one man dead and sent three others to the hospital.

CHRISTOPHER THOMAS Daily News Staff

Troopers say an inattentive driver caused the three-vehicle wreck this week that left one man dead and sent three others to the hospital.

Spencer Davis Sharpe, 25, of Richlands was charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, driving left of center and failure to reduce speed when colliding with a vehicle after troopers say he caused a collision on N.C. 172 in Hubert on Thursday.

Sharpe was driving a 2004 Ford F-150 truck north at about 5:20 p.m. on N.C. 172 when a 1993 Honda Accord in front of him slowed to make a right turn into a private highway. Sharpe swerved his truck to the left, striking the left rear corner of the Honda with the front, right corner of his truck before colliding head-on with a 1993 Nissan pickup truck towing a boat and headed south, according to Sgt. R.E. Dudley of the N.C. Highway Patrol.

The driver of the Nissan, Jake Ray Jones, 61, of Kinston, was pronounced dead at the scene.

His passenger William Jones, 66, of Pink Hill, was airlifted to New Hanover Regional Medical Center. As of late Friday, Jones was reported to be in good condition, according to officials at NHRMC.

Sharpe and the driver of the Honda, James Allen Denton, 36, of Hubert, were taken to Onslow Memorial Hospital where they were treated and released, according to Dudley.

Dudley said the wreck is still under investigation but none of the drivers involved were impaired in any way at the time of the crash.

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